It’s nearly go time with the London Marathon only a matter of days away. I’m like a child at Christmas, literally buzzing with excitement. I can’t get the marathon out of my head and only a few days ago I had my first dream about it. The dream wasn’t a good experience. I had been running for two hours in pain and had only reached 8 miles. I’m also running in my hefty vans trainers, no wonder I’m in pain and have to stop off at my car and get my running trainers on! That’s all I remember from the dream but thankfully I’ve not had anymore since.

My training has now finished. I did my last longish run of 7 miles on Sunday and it wasn’t the greatest run either. There was thankfully no pain but I did feel quite lethargic but I’ve put that down to doing an awful lot of walking and trekking while being away on holiday in the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. This included a lovely hike up Ingleborough, one of the three Yorkshire peaks, but unfortunately at the top I was surrounded by cloud so there no stunning view!

Because my legs have felt so tired I decided to do only one short run this week, which was an easy 30 minutes on the treadmill. I have also had a sports massage and my last personal training session which featured an awful lot of intense stretching. My legs and lower back are aching a little after the session, which is to be expected, so resting ready for Sunday is definitely the best thing I can do. Psychologically it is quite hard to not do anything else and just rest up. I feel like I need to still be doing more work but I have to keep reminding myself that I can only do too much this week and my legs need to feel fresh for Sunday.

What I’ve loved over the last few weeks is getting to know the other runners who will be taking part in the marathon for Meningitis Research Foundation. There is a group on Facebook that the charity has put together and it’s been incredibly emotional reading everyone’s story as to why they are running for the charity. I know I’ve been incredibly lucky in surviving meningitis but unfortunately for some of the other runners they have lost family members and it’s so heartening to read the hard work and dedication they have put in to help raise awareness of the cause and so much money for the charity too. I really can’t wait to meet them on the day and share the amazing experience with them.

To help trying to spot me on the TV on Sunday it is possible to track my progress through the official Virgin London Marathon app which is available on both iOS and android phones. Once you have downloaded the app, click on the menu and under favourites put my name in or my BIB number – 43923 and you will be able to see which mile I’m on, my pace and expected finish. TredFlex, my corporate sponsor, will also be sharing updates through their social media channels on Facebook and Twitter so please follow them @TredflexShoes or visit their website for more details.

All that is left to say is a massive thank you to my family and friends, especially my wife for having to put up with my gruelling training schedule and my moaning about my aches and pains, for their unbelievable support throughout. To everyone that has donated thank you for supporting such an important cause and helping to raise awareness of meningitis and septicaemia. Special thanks to Simon and Lindsey Robertson at TredFlex for not only their donation to the charity but for providing me with a fab personal trainer and for helping to get my story out there through their social media networks and website. It’s been such a great partnership and I appreciate everything the have done for me. Last but not least, thank you to Ben Hope at Health, Fitness and Performance – @HFPBenHope on Facebook @HFPptbhope on Twitter, for his tough but enjoyable personal training sessions that have helped shape my body to be able to tackle the marathon. His knowledge and that of Rachel Perkins at Painful Locations has been invaluable, especially in supporting me through the injuries and niggles I’ve had to endure.

Lastly, my fundraising total now sits at £2,425.45! I’ve still a couple of collection pots to collect and tally up. I’m so close to reaching £2,500 so it would be amazing to hit my new target on the day itself. If you wish to help me out in doing so then please visit my Just Giving page and leave a donation, thank you.

Expect one final blog post sometime next week to find out how it all went. I can almost hear the crowds cheering us on already. I want to wish everyone who is running on the day, for whatever reason you are running and cause you are supporting, the absolute best of luck! We are in it together and it will be an amazing experience that I can’t wait to share with everyone. Here goes nothing… wish me luck!